Review - Glenallachie Virgin Oak Finish Series

These three whiskies are first in a new series of limited edition single malts from the Speyside distillery of Glenallachie that will form The Virgin Oak Finish Series - the Glenallachie Chinquapin Virgin Oak Finish, the French Virgin Oak Finish and the Spanish Virgin Oak Finish. Each whisky has first been matured in American oak ex-bourbon barrels before being transferred for a short period to the three different virgin oak casks. All are released at 12 years of age.

Review - Auchentoshan 'Virgin Oak' Batch 2

This is the second edition of the Virgin Oak expression from the Lowland distillery of Auchentoshan.  The whisky has been fully matured in ex-American virgin oak casks (the term 'virgin' refers to the fact that the casks have never had any spirit maturing in them before), which is rare in the Scotch whisky industry. Auchentoshan have been maturing stock in virgin oak casks since the early 2000s and this practice forms part of a larger strategy of experimentation with non-traditional casking by the brand owners.

New release - Auchentoshan Virgin Oak

The Auchentoshan Virgin Oak is the latest new limited edition bottling from the increasingly popular Lowland single malt distillery. This news follows hot on the heels of a similar release from Auchentoshan's sibling distillery of Glen Garioch, which we have reviewed here. The whisky has been fully matured in ex-American virgin oak casks (the term 'virgin' refers to the fact that the casks have never had any spirit maturing in them before), which is rare in the Scotch whisky industry.

Inbox - August 2, 2013

Welcome to this week's Inbox.  For those that have recently discovered us, Inbox is our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our email inbox. It was created as we cannot write full articles or do justice to every piece received. It features items from around the world of whisky and is published by us each Friday.

New release - Glen Garioch Virgin Oak

This whisky is an innovative new limited edition expression from the up-and-coming east Highland distillery of Glen Garioch. The Virgin Oak is a rarity amongst single malts as it has been fully matured in virgin ex-American white oak casks and offers something new to the brand's ever expanding range. Speaking recently to Rachel Barrie, the Master Blender for Morrison Bowmore Distillers (the owners of Glen Garioch), she revealed that they have been experimenting at the distillery with these casks and the first were laid down for maturation in 2000.